Fairground Rides
Uplands Junior School
Year 5
Name:______
I can design and make a model of a fairground ride in which an electric motor produces rotating movement.
Investigating Pulley Systems.
Before the fairground ride can be made, it is important to understand the mechanics of rotational movement using pulleys and drive belts.
Using 2 pulley wheels and an elastic band as the drive belt, follow the diagrams below to see how the direction of rotation of the pulley changes when the drive belt is twisted.
drive
Card disc (pulley wheel - A)
belt
Motor (B)
Set up the above diagram to see whether A or B rotate at different speeds.
You should find that the small pulley (B) rotates much more quickly than the large pulley (A) but has less turning force (torque).
slow
standard
very fast
Pulley wheels connected in a pulley train can be used to give a greater increase or decrease in speed.
Choose between a Ferris wheel and a Carousel
Think about the ride you want to make. Draw a picture of how you want your ride to look once it has been completed. Think about the colour scheme you may want. If it is a carousel then think about what type of animals you want as part of your ride. If it is a Ferris wheel think about colouring of seats, size of the seats and number of seats. Label your diagram.
This image should help you to gain ideas about how you can get your ride to move using an electric motor. Draw arrows and label the following: motor, spindle (dowel), battery/cell, electrical wire, pulley wheel and drive belt. Which way do you think the spindle is going to turn? Is this in the horizontal plane? How could we adapt the cardboard frame to make the spindle turn in the vertical plane? How can we attach the motor to the frame? Think about the force acting on the motor from the drive belt - if the belt is too strong will it pull the motor off the frame? Does the drive belt (elastic band) need to be taut? What would happen if the belt/elastic band was too slack? Look at the spindle. Would the constant turning of the spindle cause frictional damage on the cardboard frame? How could we over come this?
Once the class has considered these questions you can move onto Step 1.
Step 1 - I can make a framework that contains moving parts made from an electric circuit connected to a motor, which in turn is connected to a pulley wheel and drive belt.
Equipment List:
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A photograph of my initial frame for the fairground ride
My instructions for completing Step 1.
First I______
Then I______
Next I______
After that I______
Following this I______
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Finally I______
Step 2
I now have a moving part for my ride so I am going to construct the actual ride. (Not forgetting to decorate sections of my ride before assembling it).
Equipment: (I must consider what I want my ride to be made from - lolly pop sticks, cardboard, paper)
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My design for a fairground ride. A photograph of my ride so far.
The problems I have encountered here include:
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What I enjoyed the most about this stage of my model making include:
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Continuation of Step 2
Write a diary extract about what you have achieved so far with your model making (remember to put information into your diary about who you are working with and any problems you have encountered and what you have enjoyed so far about this project).
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My Model Fairground Ride
My completed ride
Extension Activity
Can you use a computer and interface connection to get your ride to work?
Evaluation of my work: (Questions to think about: Did you enjoy the task? Did you come across a lot of problems, would you do anything different next time? Can you make improvements to your ride?)
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